Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Local start-up launches app for service providers

SINGAPORE — Whether it is a plumber or fitness trainer you are looking for, a pet-grooming service or a car paint job, searching for a good deal just got a whole lot easier.

A screen shot from the Page Advisor app. Photo: Facebook/Page Advisor

A screen shot from the Page Advisor app. Photo: Facebook/Page Advisor

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

SINGAPORE — Whether it is a plumber or fitness trainer you are looking for, a pet-grooming service or a car paint job, searching for a good deal just got a whole lot easier.

A new auction app listing 1,400 merchants that offer more than 100 categories of home and lifestyle services was launched by a homegrown start-up yesterday.

Page Advisor follows a concept that has taken off around the world. For instance, Amazon started a marketplace in the United States listing more than two million offers across more than 700 professional services.

Consumer benefits aside, the concept also aids businesses, particularly SMEs, that have been slow to latch onto e-commerce, partly because of resource constraints.

Member of Parliament Inderjit Singh (Ang Mo Kio GRC) said at the launch of the app yesterday that the application could help SMEs increase their visibility and reach a new demographic of consumers.

These “small boys” can also “drastically improve their productivity by not spending time on administrative matters, such as fielding phone queries, because they can do so through the app”, he said.

“This means they will be able to focus on actually providing the services they specialise in,” he added.

How the app works: A consumer chooses a suitable category his job request belongs to, stating the specifics of the service he is looking for and the price range he is willing to pay.

The relevant merchants will be notified of the job offer via the app and a text message. They then quote their prices, which only the customer can see.

Contact numbers are only exchanged when an offer has been accepted, so no merchant can try to gain an advantage by communicating with a customer.

Payment is made to the app firm, which takes a 10 per cent cut and disburses the remaining upon completion of the job. For transactions above S$5,000, the commission drops to 5 per cent.

In the event of a dispute, investigations will be carried out by the app developer’s 100-strong ground team. A customer is promised a full refund should the service provider be found to have violated any of the terms agreed upon.

Merchants TODAY spoke to say the potential marketing reach of the app was a key draw.

Ms June Seow, who owns a piano rental company, said few people even know businesses like hers exist.

“It is like confirmed marketing. We are paying for the result of the market (only after we have secured the job),” she said.

Balloon artist Calvin Teo, who also owns an event-planning company, said he used to spend thousands of dollars a year on marketing. He added: “I see it as an additional source of revenue. At the same time, the amount I pay for the marketing from a successful job is negligible.”

Page Advisor founder Fabian Lim, who is a seasoned online entrepreneur with numerous businesses, said his app also helps safeguard both consumers’ and service providers’ interests.

Consumers get a range of price quotations effortlessly, rather than have to trawl through business directories or the Internet.

Merchants, on the other hand, are protected from untrue reviews because the app only allows a bona fide customer to rate a service provider he has used. MATTHIAS TAY

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.